thenhlfandomcom-20200215-history
Martin Brodeur
| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | draft = 20th overall | draft_year = 1990 | draft_team = New Jersey Devils | career_start = 1991 }} Martin Brodeur (born Martin Pierre Brodeur on May 6, 1972) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender who has played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the New Jersey Devils. In his 21-year tenure with the Devils, Martin has won three Stanley Cup championships and has been in the playoffs every year but three. He has won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games as well as several other medals with Team Canada in other international competitions. Martin is the NHL's all-time leader in regular season wins (surpassing Patrick Roy in 2009), losses, shutouts, and games played, and holds numerous other league and franchise records. Martin has won at least 30 games in every season since 1995–96 with the exception of the 2010–11 season, an injury-shortened 2008–09 season in which he played just 31 games and the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. He is the only goalie in NHL history with eight 40-win seasons. He is a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, a five-time Jennings Trophy winner, a ten-time NHL All-Star, a Calder Memorial Trophy winner and one of only two NHL goaltenders to score a goal in both the regular season and the playoffs. Martin uses a hybrid style of goaltending by standing up more than butterfly style goalies, though he has recently become more comfortable using modern techniques. He is known for his puck handling, his positional play and his reflexes, especially with his glove hand. Martin's prowess at puck handling directly led the NHL to change its rules regarding where goalies were allowed to handle the puck outside of the goal crease. Martin's son Anthony was drafted by the New Jersey Devils with the 208th pick in the 7th round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Martin announced his son's selection to the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Playing Career Early Hockey Career Martin started playing hockey as a forward. His goaltending career began when his coach asked him if he wanted to play as a backup at the position in a youth tournament. Martin explained: "The next season my coach came up to me and said, 'Do you want to be a goalie or forward this year?' It was the biggest decision of my life, and I was seven years old. I don't know why I decided, but I thought it would be fun to play goal. Brodeur's play in goal was soon noticed by fans and scouts." In 1990, Martin made it to the Quebec Major Junior League. While playing with the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser, he made the QMJHL All-Rookie team and the QMJHL 2nd All-Star Team in 1992. Martin was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round (20th overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. 1991-1995 In the 1991–92 NHL season, Martin spent most of his time with the Utica Devils of the AHL, but was called up to the NHL on an emergency basis for four games when New Jersey's goaltenders Chris Terreri and Craig Billington became injured. He won his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins 4–2 and played in one playoff game that season. Martin spent the following season in the AHL with Utica. However, in the 1993–94 season, Martin returned to the NHL permanently and gained recognition when he won the Calder Trophy, an annual award for the best rookie in the NHL. He led the Devils to the second-best record in the league and the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs where they lost to the New York Rangers in seven games. Martin finished 2nd in goals against average (GAA) (2.40) and 4th in save percentage (.915) in 47 games played during the regular season, helping him eventually land the starting job over Terreri. In the 1994–95 NHL season season which was shortened to 48 games due to a four-month lockout, the Devils finished tied for 9th overall, 5th in their conference, and they were not considered a Stanley Cup contender. With the leadership of Martin, they defeated the Boston Bruins in the 1st round, shutting them out in three of their four wins. In the second round against Pittsburgh, Martin gave up only eight goals and helped the Devils defeat the Penguins in five games. In the third round, the Devils defeated Philadelphia in six games, giving them their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history against the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings. The strong play of Martin and the Devils' infamous "trap" method made the series lopsided in favour of New Jersey, who swept the Red Wings 4 games to 0 while holding them to only seven goals in four games. He won a Stanley Cup in only his second full season in the NHL. After the victory, Martin was quoted as saying: "In the last game against Detroit, the time from ten minutes left to one minute left was probably the longest nine minutes of my life. But from one to zero was probably the greatest time I've ever had. I didn't want the clock to run out. It was such a great feeling: people crying in the stands, people jumping up and down, people cheering. Guys couldn't even sit up on the bench. It was probably the best minute of my life." 1995-1999 After a year of success, the Devils were in the middle of the pack for most of the 1995–96 season and barely missed the playoffs. Martin played in 74 of his team's 82 games, setting a single-season record for most minutes played by a goalie, while having the 2nd-most shutouts (6) in the league. He was named the starter in the All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference and stopped all 12 shots he faced.4 He finished fourth in voting for the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top goaltender. Martin also played on Team Canada during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where Canada lost to the United States in the gold medal match. In the 1996–97 season, the Devils finished 3rd in the NHL. Martin was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy, was named to the All-Star team, and had the lowest goals against average by a goalie in almost 30 years, earning him the Jennings Trophy. He also had 10 shutouts and a .927 save percentage. On April 17, 1997, in the first game of a first-round playoff matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, Martin fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5–2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs and the fifth time overall. The Devils went on to win that series, but lost in the second round to the rival New York Rangers. The following year, Martin had 43 wins and 10 shutouts in the regular season. The Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators. Once again, Martin made the All-Star Team, finished as a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy and won the Jennings Trophy. In the 1998–99 season, the Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference for the third straight year with Martin winning 39 games. He was among the contenders for the Vezina Trophy and started in the All-Star game, making his fourth appearance. However, the Devils lost in the first round to the Penguins. It was the worst playoff performance in Martin's five-year career, as he allowed 20 goals in seven games with an .856 save percentage. 1999-2004 During the 1999–2000 season on February 15, 2000, Martin was credited with his second career goal as he was the last Devils player on the ice to touch the puck before Daymond Langkow of the Philadelphia Flyers accidentally put the puck into his own empty net during a delayed penalty call against the Devils. Martin had previously tapped the puck behind his net, stopping an attempted wrap-around by a Philadelphia Flyer. That season, Martin won 43 games for the second time in his career and the Devils finished with the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference after losing the division to the Philadelphia Flyers by two points. Martin helped the Devils sweep the Florida Panthers in the first round, giving up only six goals in four games. In the next round against the Toronto Maple Leafs he recorded two shutouts, including one in the final game of the series as the Devils went on to win four games to two, setting up a showdown with rival Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Flyers took a commanding 3–1 series lead and had home ice to close out the series, but Martin gave up only one goal in each of the remaining three games of the series, propelling the Devils to the surprising come from behind series victory in 7 games. They went on to play the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final, who had a higher seed but fewer regular season points, giving the Devils home ice advantage in the series. After taking game one with a 7-goal rally against Dallas, the Devils were led by Martin the rest of the way as he gave up only six goals in the next five games, giving the team their second Stanley Cup Championship in six years. The next year, Martin topped the 40-win mark for the third time in his career, despite having an average GAA and save-percentage throughout the season. He played in the All-Star Game for the 6th consecutive season and helped the Devils earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, Martin recorded two shutouts against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Devils took the series in six games. After struggling to beat 7th-seeded Toronto in seven games, the Devils had little trouble defeating the 6th-seeded Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals where Martin added two more shutouts, both on the road. In their second straight Stanley Cup finals appearance, the Devils played a back-and-forth series against the top seeded Colorado Avalanche and lost in seven games. In the 2001–02 season, Martin finished among the league leaders in wins and GAA. He continued to lead the league in victories and remained a Vezina and MVP candidate. The next season, in 2002–03, he finally achieved what had been eluding him his whole career: the Vezina Trophy. Martin also won the Jennings Trophy again, was a Hart Memorial Trophy finalist for the league's Most Valuable Player, and was named a 1st Team All-Star and started in the All-Star Game. With one of the most impressive playoff performances of his career, Martin guided the Devils to their third Stanley Cup victory after dramatic seven-game series wins against the top-seeded Ottawa Senators and the surprising 7th-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Martin posted 3 shutouts against Anaheim and had a playoff total of 7 overall, breaking Dominik Hasek's NHL record of 6 (Hašek had recorded his 6 shutouts for Detroit the previous year). Despite this, the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was awarded to Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere who became the first player not on the championship team to be named playoff MVP since Ron Hextall of Philadelphia in 1987. Some hockey writers speculated a New Jersey player did not win because there were multiple candidates resulting in a split vote among the sportswriters who selected the winner. In the 2003–04 season, Martin won his second consecutive Vezina Trophy and Jennings trophy. He was also a first Team All-Star, a starter in the NHL All-Star Game, and a finalist for the Hart Trophy again. The Devils lost the Atlantic Division title by 1 point to the Philadelphia Flyers, who thus obtained the third seed and home ice advantage against the sixth-seeded Devils in the first round of the playoffs. This would be too much for Martin and the Devils to overcome as the Flyers went on to defeat them in five games. 2005-2009 After the 2004–05 NHL lockout canceled the 2004–05 season, Martin signed a contract extension with the Devils on January 27, 2006, that would pay him $31.2 million over six years. In the 2005–06 season, Martin posted 43 wins, adding onto his NHL records of what was now five 40-win seasons and ten consecutive 30-win seasons. After struggling early in the season, Martin's impressive play later on made him a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the third straight year and helped lead the Devils to a surprising comeback in the last two months of the season that resulted in them winning the Atlantic Division in the final game of the year. In the first round of the playoffs, Martin beat the Rangers for the first time in his career, leading the Devils to a four-game sweep. But a 4–1 series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Devils in the next round. In the 2006–07 season, Brodeur made his ninth NHL All-Star Game appearance in Dallas, Texas, won his third Vezina Trophy and rose on several NHL records lists. On December 8, 2006, he posted a 2–0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers for his 462nd career win, moving him into 2nd place on the all-time list ahead of Ed Belfour. Just a few weeks later, on December 26, Martin beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 to record his 85th career shutout, moving him past Glenn Hall for 3rd place on that all-time list and 1st place among all active goalies. On February 1, 2007, Martin beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6–5 in overtime to take the all-time lead in overtime (non-shootout) wins with 45, passing Roy. The Devils first 38 wins of the season were all with him in net, leading him to set a NHL record for most consecutive wins for a team. On April 3, 2007, Martin tied the NHL record for most wins in a single season with 47, set by Bernie Parent in 1973–74, in a 2–1 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, Martin broke the record with his 48th win in a 3–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, which helped the Devils clinch their seventh Atlantic Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the seventh-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning, Martin started out shaky and the Devils fell behind two games to one. He would come back strong, however, to finish the series and he helped the team advance in six games while passing Grant Fuhr for second place in all-time playoff victories. In the second round against the Ottawa Senators, Martin could not continue his stellar play and allowed 15 goals in only 5 games en route to a 4–1 series victory for the Senators. In the 2007–08 season, Martin became the second goalie in NHL history to reach 500 wins with a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 17, 2007. The only other goalie to achieve the feat is Patrick Roy. Martin was also named the starting goalie for the Eastern Conference in the 2007–08 NHL All Star Game in Atlanta. However, he was unable to participate because of a family obligation. New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro took over as starter of the game while Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas took the last spot for goalies. After losing a bitter series against the rival New York Rangers in the opening round of the 2008 NHL playoffs, Martin refused to shake Sean Avery's hand. During game three of the series, in an unusual move, Avery turned to face Brodeur during a 5-on-3 power play, and began waving his hands and stick in front of Brodeur's face in an effort to distract him. The day after this game the NHL announced that it had revised its unsportsmanlike conduct rule (now known as The Sean Avery Rule) effectively outlawing such antics. Martin started wearing a new painted mask design for the 2008–09 NHL season with a stylized "MB30" on the front, replacing the "J" that had been on his mask for his entire NHL career. During a game on November 1, 2008, Martin suffered from a "bruised elbow" which would later be diagnosed as a torn distal biceps tendon, the first major injury in his career. Following surgery on November 6, 2008, Martin would miss 16 weeks of the season before playing his next game on February 26, 2009. Upon returning from the injury, he registered a 4–0 shutout against the Colorado Avalanche for his 99th career shutout. Three days later, Martin recorded his 100th career shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers, three short of Terry Sawchuk's NHL record. 2009-Current Since 2009, Martin has broken a number of career records for goaltenders, including: *Most career wins, breaking Patrick Roy's record of 551. *Most playoff shutouts 24, breaking Patrick Roy's record of 23. *Most minutes played, breaking Patrick Roy's record of 60,235 minutes. *Most games played, surpassing Patrick Roy's record of 1,029. *Most regular-season shutouts, breaking Terry Sawchuk's record of 103. On December 30, 2009, Martin and the Devils shut out the Penguins, 2–0. It was his 105th career shutout, giving him the all-time professional record, surpassing George Hainsworth's total of 104 combined in the NHL (94) and Western Canada Hockey League (10). On April 6, 2010, Martin reached his 600th career win by defeating the Thrashers 3–0. This was also his 110th career shutout. In the 2009–10 NHL season, he led the NHL in wins (45), shutouts (9), games played (77) and minutes played (4,499). Martin also won his fifth Jennings Trophy and had the third-best GAA in the league, leading his team to back-to-back division wins that included a 6–0 regular-season sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the seventh-seeded team Philadelphia Flyers in five games. Martin went on to record 23 wins during the 2010–11 NHL season which saw the Devils slump during the first half of the season, only to miss the playoffs narrowly after a hot winning streak during the season's latter half. The Devils returned to the playoffs in the 2011–12 NHL season, as Brodeur recorded his 14th 30-win season. In Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals against the Florida Panthers, Martin became only the second goaltender to record 100 playoff wins in a 3–2 Devils victory. In Game 4 with a 4–0 victory, he broke the NHL career playoff shutout record with his 24th, surpassing Patrick Roy, who had 23. On May 25, 2012, Martin and the Devils defeated the New York Rangers 3–2 on an overtime goal by Adam Henrique, leading to Brodeur's fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Devils lost in the Finals to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. During the off-season of 2012, Martin hired agent Pat Brisson leading many to believe he would test free-agency. However on July 2, 2012, Martin agreed to a two-year, $9 million deal to remain with the Devils alongside backup goalie Johan Hedberg. On March 21, 2013, in his first game back from a month-long absence due to a pinched nerve injury in his upper back, Martin was credited with a power play goal against the Carolina Hurricanes, making him the only NHL goalie to record three career goals, and the second goalie to have scored on the Power Play. Evgeni Nabokov was the first goalie to score on a power play. On June 28, 2013, it was announced that Martin would be the cover athlete for EA's NHL 14 video game. He defeated finalist Sergei Bobrovsky in an online vote. Career Statistics Regular Season Statistics Playoffs Statistics International Statistics Awards & Achievements ;QMJHL ;NHL (Shared with Mike Dunham in 1997. Tied with Roman Čechmánek and Robert Esche in 2003.) Milestones Martin is the youngest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300, 400 and 500 regular season win plateaus, and is the only goaltender to reach 600 regular season wins (at the end of the 2012−13 season, he stood at 669 wins). His 300th victory came on December 15, 2001, with a 39-save shutout against the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre. Martin's 400th victory was on March 23, 2004, at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida as the Devils defeated the hometown Florida Panthers. He stopped twenty-one shots and needed to work overtime to get the win. With the victory, Martin also became the first goaltender to win 400 games playing every game for the same team. On November 17, 2007, Martin reached the 500 win plateau on November 17, 2007, against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6–2 win. On March 15, 2008, Martin earned his seventh 40-win season of his career, the most of any goaltender in NHL history. On April 6, 2010, Martin reached 600 wins with a 3–0 shutout over the Atlanta Thrashers. On April 5, 2012, in a 2–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, Martin reached his 14th 30-win season, again the most of any NHL goaltender. On March 14, 2009, Brodeur recorded his 551st career win against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre to tie Patrick Roy for the most in NHL history in his hometown and where Roy played the first half of his career. To acknowledge their fellow countryman, the crowd of Canadiens fans chanted Brodeur's name at the end of the game and gave him a standing ovation. Martin's father Denis was at the game taking pictures. Three nights later, in a 3–2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Martin became the all-time NHL leader in regular season wins by a goaltender with 552. On November 27, 2009, Martin broke the record for most minutes ever played by an NHL goaltender, breaking Patrick Roy's record of 60,235. On December 7, 2009, Martin tied Sawchuk's record for regular season shutouts at 103 in a 3–0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Twelve nights later, he broke the record set by Patrick Roy for games played by a goaltender in the National Hockey League (1,030 games). Two weeks after tying Sawchuk's shutout record, Martin recorded his 104th regular season shutout, breaking Sawchuk's record with a 4–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, stopping all 35 shots. On December 30, 2009, Martin and the Devils again shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2–0. It was his 105th career shutout, giving him the all-time professional record, surpassing George Hainsworth's total of 104 combined in the NHL (94) and Western Canada Hockey League (10). On April 19, 2012, Martin passed Patrick Roy's record for most career playoff shutouts at 24 in a 4–0 victory over the Florida Panthers. On January 22, 2013, Martin posted his 120th career shutout in the regular season with a 24-save 3–0 victory over the Flyers. On June 28, 2013, EA revealed that Martin had been selected as the cover athlete for NHL 14. On December 14, 2013, Martin posted his 124th career shutout in the regular season with a 33-save 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Records In over 16 seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Martin owns several notable NHL records as listed below. Most of these records he has broken were held by goalies who have played at least a full 20 year career. Career Records *The final seconds and post-game celebration of Brodeur's 552nd win on March 17, 2009, against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Prudential Center. *Most regular season wins: 676 *Most regular season shutouts: 124 *Most regular season losses: 381 *Most playoff shutouts: 24 *Most shutouts, regular season & playoffs combined: 146 *Most overtime wins: 45 *Most 40-win seasons: 8 *Most 30-win seasons: 14 *Most consecutive 40-win seasons: 3 (tied with Evgeni Nabokov) *Most consecutive 35-win seasons: 11 *Most consecutive 30-win seasons: 12 *Youngest goalie to reach 300, 400 and 500 career wins *Only goalie to reach 600 career wins *Most career saves: 27,901 *Most games played by an NHL goaltender: 1,220 (also most played with only one team) *Most total minutes played by an NHL goaltender: 71,786 *Only NHL goalie to score a game-winning goal *Most career goals by a goaltender, including playoffs: 3 *Most career goals by a goaltender in the regular season: 2 *Only goalie to win 100 games in two separate buildings (Continental Airlines Arena and Prudential Center) Regular Season Records *Most wins in a single season (48, in 2006–07) *Most minutes played in a single season (4697, in 2006–07) Playoff Records *Most shutouts in a playoff campaign (7, in 2003) *Most shutouts in a Stanley Cup final (3, in 2003; tied with Toronto Maple Leafs' Frank McCool) *Third goaltender to win the Stanley Cup with a Game 7 shutout in 2003. *First goaltender in history to have 3 shutouts in two different playoff series (1995 against Boston in the Conference Quarterfinals, 2003 against Anaheim in the Stanley Cup final.) *Most points and assists in a playoff campaign (4 assists, in 2012). Martin is second all-time in playoff games played (to Patrick Roy's 247), playoff wins (to Roy's 151), games played in a single regular season (to Grant Fuhr's 79 in the 1996–97 season) and eighth all-time in goals-against average (minimum 250 NHL games played). He has also acquired more than 30 franchise records, including most all-time regular season and playoff wins, shutouts, lowest goals-against-average and is second in games played (1205) as a Devil to Ken Daneyko's 1283 games. The only major awards Martin has yet to win are the Hart Trophy (which is given to the regular season's most valuable player) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (which is granted annually to the most outstanding player in the postseason). International Play }} Martin has played for Canada in the: *1995 IIHF World Championships (bronze) *1996 World Cup of Hockey (silver) *1998 Winter Olympic Games (4th place) *2002 Winter Olympic Games (gold) *2004 World Cup of Hockey (champion) *2005 IIHF World Championships (silver) *2006 Winter Olympics (lost quarterfinal) *2010 Winter Olympics (gold) Martin was selected as Team Canada's back-up goalie to Patrick Roy for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan; but he did not get to play. Canada failed to win a medal after losing the bronze-medal match to Finland, a game in which many people thought Brodeur should have played. In the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City, Utah, Martin was initially named the backup behind Curtis Joseph. But following Joseph's losing the tournament opener against Sweden, he was named the starting goaltender the rest of the way and won gold for Canada. Martin had the best GAA in the tournament and went undefeated, stopping 31 of 33 shots in the gold-medal victory over Team USA. He then led Team Canada to a World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004, allowing only 5 goals in five games. Martin led all goalies in GAA and save percentage while going undefeated. He had another impressive performance for the team at the world hockey championships in the following year. After this, The Sports Forecaster 2005–06 said the following: "Martin is arguably the top goaltender in the world. Fresh off a World Cup win in 2004 and another strong performance at the 2005 IIHF World hockey championships. He's the game's best puck-handling goaltender, though the NHL's new rules changes may somewhat alter that effectiveness." Martin was selected as Team Canada's starter in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He started in 4 of 6 games, but Canada failed to win a medal after losing to Russia in the quarterfinals. He was one of the three goalies on Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Martin registered a shootout win against Switzerland and a loss to the United States. After the loss to the US, he was benched for the remainder of the 2010 Games in favour of Roberto Luongo. Personal Life Martin's father Denis was a former NHL goaltender and a photographer for the Montreal Canadiens. He played in the 1956 Olympics for Team Canada and won a bronze medal. Denis attended all Montreal Canadiens games and when Martin was old enough, he tagged along with his dad. Martin idolized their goaltender Patrick Roy. On September 26, 2013, Denis passed away. In August of 1995, Martin married Melanie Dubois (a native of Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada). Together, they have four children: Anthony (born in 1995), twin sons William & Jeremy (born in 1996) and Annabelle Antoinette (born in 2002). On June 30, 2013, the Devils traded for the 208th pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and Martin was chosen to select his son, Anthony. Melanie filed for divorce during the 2003 playoffs due to reports that Martin was having an affair with Genevieve Nault (the wife of Melanie's brother). The incident added some fuel to the fire for hecklers during the playoffs. The reports proved to be true as Martin and Genevieve married in June of 2008. In November of 2009, they welcomed their first child together: Maxime Philippe Brodeur. Martin is regarded as an engaging raconteur in his spare time. He has hosted a street hockey tournament in his hometown of St. Leonard, Quebec for each of the Devils' Stanley Cup championships, where he plays his childhood position of forward. In 2005, Maritn began co-authoring his autobiography "Brodeur: Beyond the Crease" with long-time Toronto Star columnist and ESPN contributor Damien Cox, which was released in October of 2006. Some of the things that Martin talks about in the book are player salaries and contracts, NHL marketing, Lou Lamoriello and the Devils' new arena in Newark, the Prudential Center. He also includes his views on the "new NHL" after the lockout and how it affects his career. The book's photographs were shot by Martin's father. Martin co-owns a business called "La Pizzeria Etc." with former teammate Sheldon Souray. The idea came about after Souray was traded to play in Montreal, the city in which the business now operates. He is also the co-owner of the Spa d'Howard which is also based in his native Quebec. Martin was a resident of North Caldwell, New Jersey and currently resides in West Orange, New Jersey, near the Devils former practice facility, South Mountain Arena. On December 1, 2009, Martin became a naturalized United States citizen, but per IIHF rules would only be able to compete for Canada. In the summer months, he resides in Morin-Heights, Québec, Canada. The Brodeur Rule After the 2004–05 lockout and before the start of the 2005–06 season, the league instituted a new rule preventing goaltenders from playing the puck behind the goal line, except within a trapezoid-shaped zone located behind the net. The trapezoid begins at the goal line with angled lines six feet from each goal post and widens to 28 feet at the end boards. Former Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke was one of the leaders in getting the trapezoid implemented. This was viewed by many as singling out Martin, who was one of the best at getting behind the net to handle the puck, and has come to be known as the "Brodeur Rule." At the 2009 NHL General Managers' Meeting, it was discussed whether or not the rule should be eliminated as a solution to the increasing number of injuries on defencemen who are being hit hard by forechecking forwards. The forecheckers were no longer impeded by defencemen holding them up because of the crackdown on interference which created situations where defencemen were being hit at high speeds. Martin believed that revoking the trapezoid could result in more scoring and more exciting games. He explained, "If you give the liberty to the goalies to play the puck, they'll mess up more than they're successful." He also expressed his concern for defencemen, "It's a no-brainer if they want to start to eliminate these huge hits for the defencemen... Whenever my defencemen or somebody was getting a big hit, I felt guilty that I let that guy get hit like that. Now, I've got to sit and watch all the time... You've got to try to find something because so many guys are getting hurt." At the time of his statement, Devils defencemen Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya and Bryce Salvador were all out with injuries. Ultimately the suggestion was rejected and the rule stayed in place. Toronto Maple Leafs former GM Brian Burke said, "We had originally approved a rule where the goaltenders couldn't handle the puck behind the net at all. The game was turning into a tennis match. You'd dump it in and the goalie would throw it out and now with the soft chip into the corner it turns into a puck battle and a forecheck opportunity, which is what we wanted." Category:New Jersey Devils players Category:Utica Devils players Category:Goaltenders